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NGC 6553
GLOBULAR CLUSTER IN SAGITTARIUS (THE ARCHER)
(Image centered at: ra 18 h:09 m / dec - 25º 54')
CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A HIGH RESOLUTION VIEW
October - 2024, Home Backyard in Martinez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
DATA
TYPE: GLOBULAR CLUSTER CLASS V
APPARENT DIAMETER: 9.2 arc minutes
APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): 8.6
DISTANCE: 19600 light years
IMAGE INFORMATION
INSTRUMENT: 6" ORION OPTICS UK (Ultra Grade Optics) w/Sky Watcher Coma Corrector (0.9x) working at at f4.5
CAMERA: QHY 183 MONO
MOUNT: VIXEN GDPX, OAG with QHY 5II Mono
FILTERS: BAADER LRGB Set
SKY CONDITIONS: urban skies - Bortle 8
EXPOSURES: LRGB (45,45,45,45)
OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION
NGC 6553 is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius and one of the last targets I have imaged in 2024 from this crowded star area. It is a Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class is XI, meaning the star concentration is very loose even at the center. The globular has stars of magnitude 20 and dimmer. It is located just over a degree southeast of Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula. Unlike common globular clusters, NGC 6553 is relatively metal-rich, and there is evidence of at least two periods of star formation. Due to a complex star-forming record, the stars in the cluster are differing in composition, most notably in concentrations of sodium and aluminum.
NGC 6553 was discovered by German - British astronomer William Herschel on May the 22nd 1784. He described as a "Faint, large, irregularly round, inclining to milkyness 3 or 4' diameter, like a brush to a north preceding star, but probably unconnected."
NGC 6553 - GLOBULAR CLUSTER
CROPPED LUMINANCE AT 100% RESOLUTION
